High-splicing mechanism for circular-knitting machines.



`F. W. ROBINSON. HIGH SPLICING MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES.APPLlcATloN FILED sEPT.2o. 1915.

II l, Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

F. W. ROBINSON. HIGH SPLICING MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, IBIS.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

of Fig. 2 so as to FRANK W. ROBINSON,

0F READING, PENNSYLVANIA, :ASSIGNOR T0 NOLDE & HORST COMPANY, 0FREADING, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

HIGH-summe MEGHANIS'M Specification of Letters Patent.

FOB CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINES.

patented ret.' e, 1era.

Application led September 20, 1915. Serial No. 51,576.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W. ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in High-SplicingMechanism for Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to circular knitting machines, and my object is toprovide mechanism for introducing a reinforcing thread to certain of theneedles to form a highspliced foot and heel in a stocking knit thereon.The free portion of this reinforcing thread has been ordinarily floatedacross the tubular fabric to be cut away in a sub' sequent operation.Moreover where striping or clocking attachments are employed inconnection with the knitting machine, with thread carrying meansextending into the circle of needles this floating of the thread is aptto cause interference.y To permit the use of a reinforcing orhigh-splice thread in stockings having stripes or clocks, and to avoidthe subsequent operation even in plainknitting, I provide mechanism forintroducing this reinforcing thread having means for laying the threadunder the needles intended to knit-in the same, and for cutting it 0Ebeyond the latter and carrying the end around the idle needles so as tobe again engaged by the active needles. My mechanism also provides fordividing the needles so as to permit only a determined portion of themto engage this reinforcing thread.

The invention is fully described in connection with theaccompanyingdrawing and the novel features are set forth in the claims.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of a knitting machineembodying my invention developed on the center line 1-1 more clearlyshow the construction. Fig. 2 's a partial plan view of the same. Fig. 3is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the tensioningdevice on the exterior of the thread-carrier latch ring or segment. Fig.4 is an inside view of a part of the knitting cam ring,

engaging, disengaging and severing of the reinforcing thread.

In the drawing 1 represents the revolving cam cylinder, which is mountedas usual in the frame of the machine and driven in well known manner. f

2 is the fixed needle cylinder, and 3, 3 the knitting needles thereinwhich are vertically moved by the cams on the inner face of the camcylinder.

4 is the thread-carrier latch ring, pivotally mounted at 5, as usual, ina bracket 6 secured to the cam cylinder, so that it may be swung up outof the way when desired.

Above the needles I have indicated a striping attachment such as is morefully shown and described in my Patent No. 1,077,304 issued November 4,19/13; the thread fingers 10, 10, being arranged to swing between theneedles. These fingers have a pivotal bearing at 11 in sockets securedto the plate 12 supported above the needles by a bracket 13, and eachfinger has a projecting larm 14 provided with a lateral branch havingspaced contacts 15 and 16 for an operating cam 17 whereby the lingers`are swung through and around one or more needles to wrap about them theadditional thread which is to be interlooped with the loops of thefabric -to form a stripe. Reference to the patent will more fullydisclose this known operation. These striping fingers 10 extend into thecircle of needles\3, 3, below the top of the latch ring 4; which latteris cut away as shown at 20 for a portion of its 'height opposite the cam17, so as to permit the swing of the fingers through the needles. Thesefingers 10, extending into the circular series of knitting needles,.interfere with fioating the free portions of a reinforcing threadacross the fabric as has been commonly done, and the use of my improvedmechanism is particularly advantageous in connection with such aconstruction.

The reinforcing thread is to be introduced into the tubular fabric for aportion only of each circular course, which necessitates splitting theneedles at the point of entry and leaving so that the determined onesonly will engage the thread. The thread must be held in position to beengaged by And its free portion must be cut and carried around theremaining portion of the circular course so as not to interfere with thedepending fingers 10. These operations follow in quick succession andmust be certain and accurate to obtain the desired results. Thissplitting or dividing of the needles I accomplish as shown, in a simplemanner, by means of the knitting cam 30, 36, and by the use of long andshort butt needles, the short butt needles only being arranged to engagethe reinforcing thread (see Figs. 4 and 5). The knitting cam 30 isformed with the usual inclined edge 31 to lower the needles riding onthe cam track 32 so that they will be engaged by the cam 33, which stillfurther lowers them until they are raised by the inclined edge 34 of thetrack 32. The cam 30 has part of its face portion cut away as shown soas to form a recess 35; in which is pivotally supported the swinging cam36, equal in thickness with the depth of the recess, which latterextends to the inclined edge 31 as shown. The long butt needles 37 rideupon the track 32 until they come to the knitting cams when they followthe heavy dotted line 38 shown in Fig. 4, riding down the inclined edge31 of cam 30, inclined edge of cam 33, and up inclined edge 34 of camtrack 32. The short butt needles 39 however do not strike the inclinededge 31, which is of reduced thickness as stated, but pass over same, asindicated by lightly dotted line 40, and contact with cam 36, whichswings against cam 33 as shown and lowers these short butt needles tocam 33; after which they follow the path 38 of the long butt needles.

The regular knitting thread or yarn 44 is fed to the needles through eye45 in the latch ring 4 as usual. The reinforcing thread 46 passes underrod 47 secured to the outside of ring 4 and then through a slot 48,which permits convenient threading, to the short butt needles. Aspringpressed tension arm 49 presses against the rod 47 so that aregulated tension, exerted by spring 50, may be constantly placed uponthe interposed thread 46.

To the bracket 6 is secured an extension 55, on which ispivotallymounted, at 56, a swinging arm 57, normally held at' rest uponthe upper edge of latch ring 4 by a spring 58. The inner end of this arm57 carries a depending thread guide 60 which is spaced from the innerface of the latch ring 4 so that the needles may pass between it and thelatch ring. This guide has an inclined face 61 adapted to lay thestriping thread in proper position with regard to the knitting thread 44so that the stripes will uniformly appear on the outer face of thestocking, as more fully described in Patent No. 1,200,140, issued to meOctober 3, 1916, on application of even date herewith. As

shown this guide also has a slot 6 2 in which the free portion of thereinforcing thread is engaged and carried around that portion of thecircular course where no reinforcing thread is desired. The arm 57 isadapted to be swung up with the latch ring 4 when the latter is movedout of service, the guide 60 secured to the end of said arm traveling ina different arc from the ring 4 so as to be projected inward from thelatter as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, to avoid striking the needles3, 3.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 to be considered in connection with Fig. 4, I haveindicated diagrammatically the operation of my mechanism, the long buttneedles having a portion shown solid to distinguish them from the shortbutt needles. In Fig. 6 the last of the series of long butt needles areshown as lowered by the edge 31 of cam 3() while the first of the seriesof short butt needles are shown in dotted lines, as passing by thereinforcing-thread slot 48 over the recessed face 35 of cam 30, beingnot yet depressed by the cam 36. This permits the reinforcing thread 46,which has been threaded as described at the beginning of the reinforcingoperation, t0 engage with the short butt needles only, the slot 48 beingso located. As all the short butt needles will pass over the face 35 ofcam 30, they will all engage this thread and draw it down in theknitting movement of the needles. In Fig. 7 the last of the series ofshort butt needles is shown as just passing the slot 48, while the longbutt needles, striking the edge 31 of cam 30, are depressed before theyreach this slot and do not engage the thread. In Fig. 8 the reinforcingthread 46 is shown extending from the last of the short butt needles tothe slot 48 of the latch ring, through the slot 62 of the guide 60; therlsing of this needle upon V the incline 34 passing this tensionedthread into the slot 62. A scissors 70 is shown as cutting this spannedthread midway between the end short butt needle and the slot 62 in guide60; thus allowing the short butt needles to travel on free while theseparated end of the reinforcing thread is held in the slot 62 until itis engaged by the first of the short butt needles, (Fig. 6) when it willbe drawn out of said slot. The scissors device for cutting this threadis shown in Fig. 1, the scissor member 70 being pivoted at 71 to adepending arm 72 carried by the plate 12 so as to locate the openedscissors at the proper point for severing the thread. The movablescissor, member 70 has a link 7 3 connecting it to a pivoted cross arm74. A spring 75 normally maintains this arm in lowered position to openthe scissors, and a rod 76 connects the arm 74 to a lever 77 pivoted toa post 78, as shown, on the upper face of the plate 12. The end of thelever 77 is extended beyond the circumference of the plate 12 and isarranged to be lifted by a cam 178, mounted in a manner similar to cam17, upon a post 79 carried by the cam cylinder l. This cam is throwninto the path of the lever 77 when the reinforcing thread is being fedto the needles, so that at each revolution of the cam cylinder thescissors will operate to cut the reinforcing thread after it has leftthe short butt needles as shown in Fig. 8.

The mechanism shown and described will accurately lay the reinforcingthread and knit the same into the tubular fabric for the desired portiononly of each circular course, and when the striping or clocking threadcarriers are employed, as described, this operation will not beinterfered with.

The detail construction specifically shown and described may be readilymodied without departing from the invention as dened in the claims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a circular knitting in achine having a plating-thread carrier, athread-carrier latch ring provided with separate guide apertures for a`knitting thread and a reinforcing thread, and separate series of needlesoperative upon said knitting thread with and Without said reinforcingthread respectively; a thread-guide plate carried by said latch ring andprovided with an inclined thread-guiding edge and with a thread-engagingslot.

2. In a circular knitting machine having 'a plating-thread carrier, athread-carrier latch ring provided with separate guide apertures for aknitting thread and a reinforcing thread, and separate series of needlesoperative upon said knitting thread with and without said reinforcingthread respectively; a thread-guide plate carried by said latch ring andprovided with an inclined thread-guiding edge and with a thread-engagingslot arranged approximately parallel with said edge.

3. In a circular knitting machine having a. plating-thread carrier, athread-carrier latch ring provided with separate guide apertures for aknitting thread and a reinforcing thread, and separate series of needlesoperative upon said knitting thread with and without Said reinforcingthread respectively; a. thread-guide plate carried by said latch ringand provided with an inclined thread-guiding edge and with athread-engaging slot, and an automatically operated thread cutteroperative upon successive slot-engaged threads extending between saidthread-guide plate and their engaging needles.

In testimony whereof I FRAN K W. ROBINSON affix my signature.

